Pius X Has Its Eyes On Share Of Conference Title

November 05, 1993|by TED MEIXELL, The Morning Call

The 1993 scholastic football season is down to its final two weeks, exclusive of Thanksgiving Day games and/or District 11 and state playoffs.

For the most part, none of this weekend's games for Easton/Phillipsburg/Slate Belt area teams figure to have any significant bearing upon league championship races. Unless, of course, either Easton, Nazareth -- or both -- suffer upset losses.

The lone exception to that rule is Pius X's Mid-Penn Conference scrap at Jim Thorpe tomorrow (1 p.m.). Coach Frank Scagliotta's Royals (7-2 overall, 4-1 MPC) trail the Olympians (7-2, 5-0) by a full game entering their league finale. It is also Pius X's regular season finale. Thus, the best the Royals can hope for is to knock off Jim Thorpe and gain a share of the MPC crown.

Should that happen, Cardinal Brennan, which also has just one conference loss, will likely make it a three-way split of the hardware.

The game has postseason playoff implications as well. If the Olympians get by Pius and defeat Panther Valley (2-6-1) next week, they'll qualify for a berth opposite Palmerton in District 11's Class 2A championship game two weeks hence.

Keep in mind, though, that Jim Thorpe could opt to compete in the Eastern Conference playoffs instead.

A Royals' victory would give them 42 seeding points. That would probably not be enough to get them into District 11's title game, since both Schuylkill Haven (9-0, 49 points) and Marian (8-1, 48 points) rank well ahead of them.

Again, however, since this is the last year an Eastern Conference championship will be accepted as a qualifier for a PIAA state playoff berth, either the Hurricanes, the Colts -- or both -- could decide to go that route and open up a district berth for Pius.

Back to Nazareth and Easton:

Having defeated both Bangor and Southern Lehigh, Joe Bernard's Blue Eagles (8-1, 6-0 Colonial) have pretty well sewed up their final Colonial League title (they'll move to the Mountain Valley Conference next season). They'll play at Catasauqua (1-8, 0-7) tomorrow night (7:30) and at Wilson (3-6, 3-3) next Saturday.

Only an upset of stunning proportions could knock Nazareth off its perch, in which case Bangor (5-4, 5-1) could still snag a share of the title by beating Saucon Valley (5-4, 5-1) at Saucon tonight (7:30) and visiting Pen Argyl (5-4, 4-2) next Friday.

Easton's (8-1, 7-1) only defeat was to Central Catholic (9-0, 9-0) and can only gain a share of the East Penn Conference championship if the Vikes stumble over visiting Emmaus (1-8, 1-7) tomorrow night or (far more likely) lose to Bethlehem Catholic (8-1, 8-1) at J. Birney Crum Stadium next Saturday.

The Red Rovers' best hope would seem to be to root for Becahi next week (if they can stand the mere thought!) and the three-way title split that would probably result.

The Rovers must watch their P's and Q's in the meantime, however. All bets are off if they stumble at Northampton (5-4, 5-4) tonight (7:30), at home with Emmaus next Friday -- or get dumped by arch-rival Phillipsburg (3-4-1, 3-4-1) on Thanksgiving Day at Fisher Field.

One possible, and very interesting, scenario could be lurking in the bushes: an Easton-Nazareth rematch in District 11's Class 4A championship game.

If the Rovers beat Northampton and Emmaus, they'll get the top seed (and home field) for the 4A game. Nazareth could be their opponent if the Eagles win their last two -- but they'll need some help.

Pottsville (8-1) will outrank Nazareth in seeding points if it also wins its last two games. The Crimson Tide faces at least one stiff test in powerful Harrisburg, which is the sixth-ranked 4A team in the state. (Easton is eighth, Nazareth and Pottsville get honorable mention.)

Easton thumped Nazareth 37-7 on opening night, but Bernard's gang is just itching for another shot at Steve Shiffert's troops.

One other local club, Pen Argyl, has an outside shot at a postseason berth. Bill Ruggiero's Green Knights can earn 32 seeding points if they can knock off visiting Solehi (6-3, 4-2) tomorrow (2 p.m.) and Bangor next Friday.

They'll probably be a slight underdog in each game, but even if they win they'll need some help to get into the 2A district title game. The Knights must hope the Olympians lose to both Pius X and Panther Valley or choose to go the Eastern Conference route.

The rest of this weekend's local slate, all tomorrow, includes: Wilson at Salisbury (2-7, 2-4) and Notre Dame (5-4) at Belvidere, N.J. at 2 p.m., North Warren at All Saints Regional (1-5) at 7:30 p.m. and Phillipsburg at Becahi at 7:30 p.m.